Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys). Often strange, occasionally useful, and always worth a stop as a point of interest on your journey through the Intertron.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Newbie Tuesday: New schedule of posts...

Wow, I'm really off track again thanks to the intellectual property theft and plagiarism I've been dealing with lately, and I ask your indulgence as I try to figure out how to fit all the things in that need to be done and keep up with posts on the blog.

I hope you enjoyed making toners, and I can't encourage you enough to visit any of the posts on the facial products we've been making to share your recipes.

We'll get back on track in mid-May-ish with facial oils, sera, moisturizers, and other things that contain oil. I'll put the shopping list for the mid-May posts on-line in early April. We don't want to be ordering oils too soon as they can go rancid.

If you have suggestions for products you'd like to see in this series, please include your thoughts in the comments below. Please note we are not duplicating commercial products exactly, I'm just looking for some ideas for categories that look interesting, like micellar waters, for instance.

5 comments:

I am SO EXCITED to have stumbled upon your blog. I recently saw your post about how we all define natural products and was curious to know if you might ever consider doing a newbie series on naturally derived products?

Either way, I'm looking forward to becoming a regular reader of the blog.

Thanks for continuing to educate us in spite of being so taken advantage of. That must have been a difficult decision & your followers appreciate your generously sharing your knowledge with us! Looking forward to the gel topic so much! I've been trying to create my own facial primer using aloe vera, glycerin, emusifying wax, zinc oxide (to help calm & conceal my rosacea) and a little castor oil & preservative. Instead of a lotion, I would so prefer a gel base, I just have no idea how. I would especially like to create a gel that has a powdery finish since I also struggle with shine on my face. Thanks again & looking forward to learning more from you!

Hi Tatiana! To be completely honest, it's not something I'll experiment with much as a) I really love my synthetic ingredients, like silicones and esters because they make such a difference to the skin feel, and b) you can't get a "natural" preservative that works, and I refuse to make anything that doesn't contain preservatives. We can make things that don't contain water that would be considered natural, like lotion bars, facial sera, whipped butters, and so on, but the moment we add water, we need a good, broad spectrum preservative. I am working on using more green and plant based products, but I'll never be 100% green. (I hope that doesn't sound harsh!)

Hi Amanda! Thank you for your kind words. I won't let one person spoil what I think is a pretty cool community of people here, so I'll be here for a while longer!

Why castor oil? It's quite a thick oil, so I'm curious why you'd like it for a facial product? As for making a gel as a primer, have you considered making a silicone based primer as they tend to be moisturizing but dry feeling thanks to the dimethicone. Or maybe a gel, like the ones we have coming up in the next few weeks? (The powdery finish can be attained with dimethicone or by using Incroquat BTMS-50 as an emulsifier. Do a quick search for BTMS-50 moisturizers on this blog to see a few I've made for my oily, rosacea prone skin!)

Hi Susan I'm excited for the new posts!going with Amanda's comments I have always wanted to make a primer! That doesn't break me out and keeps me matte all day.. However I've had no luck.. Could you shed some light with us and make a basic recipe with variations for different skin types? That would be amazing! Also, what do you think companies use to give the pore minimizing effect? Silicones? I don't know but I love it!

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Have a question that hasn't been asked before? Feel free to write to me at sjbarclay@telus.net and ask away! Please note, I encourage you to do the tour of the blog first and check the newbie section and FAQ first. Then maybe do a search? If you're asking for help with a recipe, I need the complete recipe in percentages and your exact process. I can't help without these, and I won't be able to do a back-and-forth with you to get the information.

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To raise money for our youth groups, I've put together these e-books! If you want to learn more about the books or donate, click on the bolded links!Or click here for a short description of all the e-books!The new e-book is here! Formulating Facial Products! This 399 page e-book is filled with recipes for facial products, including moisturizers, sera, cleansers (oil and surfactant based), scrubs, gels, and more, as well as entries for ingredients like botanical extracts, cosmeceuticals, emulsifiers, thickeners, essential oil, and more, as well as a large appendix about our oils.

Click here to see the table of contents! If you make a $28 donation to our youth programs, we'll send you a copy of this e-book along with the preservatives, oils, butters, and surfactant charts as a thank you for your kind generosity!

Formulating & Creating Lotions! This 224 page e-book is perfect for those of you familiar with lotion making and ready to start creating your own recipes! I've included all the information I know about the HLB system, as well as my base recipes for lotions, creams, body butters, and moisturizers!

Click here to see the table of contents! If you make a $26 donation to my youth programs, I'll send you a copy of this e-book, an HLB calculator in Excel format, and the carrier oil, exotic oil, butter, and preservative comparison charts.

Lotion Making 101. This 305 page book includes everything you wanted to know about the basics of making lotions, including the chemistry of our lotions, ingredients we use, keeping your lotions safe, equipment you might need, and more recipes than I could count! For those of you who don't have the Back to Basics book, I've included all the carrier oil, exotic oil, and butter profiles.

Click here to see the table of contents. If you make a $29 donation to my youth groups, I'll send you along a copy of this e-book as a thank you. I'll also send you a copy of the carrier oil, exotic oil, butter, and preservative comparison charts!

Back to Basics: Anhydrous Products. This 122 page e-book includes over 50 recipes and explanations for making lotion bars, whipped butters, balms, oil based scrubs, bath melts, bath oils, oil based sprays, solid scrubs, and facial sera, as well as all the carrier oil, exotic oil, and butter profiles and everything I've gathered about the chemistry of our oils including fatty acids, mechanisms of rancidity, phytosterols, and polyphenols.

Click to take peek at the Table of Contents. If you make a $25 donation to the groups, I'll send you a copy by e-mail as a thank you!

Click on the links above to learn more about the books. If you already know what you want or want to make a general donation, click the button below! (I'll know which e-book you want by the amount you've donated!) Thank you so much for supporting our youth groups. You have made it possible for us to continue offering our programs and we finally got that sewing machine!

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Who the heck is Swift?

I'm an aspiring cosmetic scientician and DIY girl interested in pretty much any craft you can name - bookbinding, jewellery making, sewing, paper crafts, polymer clay - but my main passion is bath & body product making.
I am currently obsessed with Rock Band (bass and singing) and science books. Did you know my favourite word is "toaster" and my favourite adjective is "hirsute"?